maybe he had gone too far with the decorations; a trail of rose petals had led its way to the dining room, several balloons afloat and strung to the chairs, the candles being one of the few sources of light save for the one in the kitchen where he was still prepping, and the blinds were open to show off the beautiful hues of oranges and pinks of the sunset that had bloomed over the trees, seemingly right on time is when dick has come home. peter would be more excited, except he wasn't done with the meal preparations just yet, the only thing currently set on the table was empty plates, two wine glasses, and a bottle of wine that had sat in the middle of the table. hearing the door click shut does he come great him at the entrance of the kitchen, smile wide on his face and flour smeared upon his cheeks. seemed like he decided to make a desert from scratch, but it got a little too messy. "hey, baby!" none of that mattered though, coming to greet him, arms wrapping loosely around his neck before pulling him into a kiss, even if he did seem a little coy. "happy valentine's day. uh, you're home earlier than i thought. dinner isn't ready yet." he had completely intended to surprise him but since dick was home... "i could use extra help from my beautiful husband."

by some miracle or by the grace of some divine being, dick actually gets home earlier than he expected. it was, in reality, because the family he was coaching decided to end their session short so that they could enjoy a meal together, and he would certainly have to thank them for it next time. he all but skips to his bike to drive home once the gymnasium was locked up, though he does make one last stop before going home.

upon his return, he's met with the most beautiful sight that he'd never tire of; @armofgod's handsome features and breathtaking smile. a smile pulls his lips apart easily when he sees his husband, affection and love surging in his heart as he opens his arms up for a hug. ❝ hey, angel ! happy valentine's day, pete. ❞ arms close around peter's waist when he comes in close like second nature, heart soaring at the simple kiss he so eagerly returned. when they pull back, dick admires the streak of flour smeared across the brunette's cheeks as he talks.

❝ aw, did i ruin the surprise ? 'm sorry, baby. that's fine, your beautiful husband has no problem helping his gorgeous husband finish up the dinner he so lovingly started. ❞ when they pull away entirely, dick shows what was in a hand; a bouquet of flowers, another small miracle that some were even still available. ❝ for you. ❞ it's not that he finally takes in the decorations, following the rose petals to their dining room before smiling softly at the balloons and wine, heart once again fluttering. he cuts the flower stems and places them in a face by their kitchen window before turning around and tugging peter in for another kiss, this time one a bit deeper and intimate than the chaste one they shared at the door. ❝ you make me feel like the luckiest man in the world. i love you so much. ❞ he pulls away to put his own apron on, turning back with a smile that never seemed to fade. ❝ alright chef, what do you want me to do ? ❞

you were much more ... muchier. you've lost your muchness.

❝ what are you even talking about ? you know those aren't real words, right ? ❞

an eyebrow raises at luis' words, but the smile betrays anything else. he's grown long since used to @armofgod's eccentricities in the years after their faithful encounter in spain, so much so that he must of liked it enough to get married to the spaniard. that all being said, he thinks he knows what he's talking about. he was a bit . . . much back in the day, though the leon that luis has always known was a shell of himself. at least, to leon's own eyes. suppose he couldn't really deny that dropkicking infected humans and doing unnecessary backflips was indeed a bit much. though, in that sense, he was still plenty “ much ”, just in another way. he leans a bit into luis' space then, his smile shifting to something not just soft. perhaps even a bit . . . teasing.

❝ you want me to be too much ? don't know if you can handle that these days. ❞

"I'm  pretty  good  at  secrets." ✦ @armofgod

there are times where darkness became a comfort and other time where it was suffocating, but here it's something new, different that he's feeling but it's only something that he has read about. helmet snug on his face hides the soft, smug smile that sits on his face as he comes close to peter's own webbed mask. "what, you'd want us to meet another way? or not meet anymore? you wound me so." dramatic hand lifts to the helmet as he actually takes it off, holding it to his hip now.

he hears the sound of his voice, something about him wanting to go to a breakfast place as civilians, yet he finds himself too busy imagining the other's features under this mask. the soft jaw, much softer than his. the comfortable brown eyes that have always been so inviting when he could see them. then vision comes back to him, sees what is in front of him.

don't worry. tall, dark, and martian isn't my type.

❝ well, actually, martians are green, so . . . not dark. ❞

a playful little smile curls on his lips at @armofgod's comment, the banter sitting warmly in his chest. the avengers and justice league meeting was, more often than not, a more formal affair than anything, a show of good faith even though both groups had their own things going on. robin had no interest in any of it himself, but talking to the other young hero definitely made it worth it. when they decided to play a game of would and wouldn't ( because smash and pass seemed . . . a little intense when multiple people in the room had super hearing ), dick posed j'onn on a whim, though peter's answer made him more curious than anything. hm . . . what was his type then ? he turns to look at the webbed hero fully, eyebrow raising under his eye mask.

❝ so what is your type, spidey ? like 'em short and sweet ? maybe you also like gingers ? ❞ though he was still seeing kori, his inner detective had to wonder why he even cared what peter's type was. well, it was probably best not to think about it too much, unless he wanted to unveil a truth about himself. best to just play it casual then. ❝ you don't have to answer if you don't want to. buttttt i am a pretty good matchmaker, if i do say so myself. ❞

what do you call yourself?

❝ uh, late for dinner ? ❞ his first instinct is to joke, but when the mask doesn't give away anything, kyle's expression falters a bit. ❝ . . . just ignore that i said that. name's green lantern. well, one of them at least. ❞

did @armofgod know there was at least five green lanterns from earth ? well, whatever, he supposed that didn't really matter. kyle wasn't expecting to meet another hero his first full day in his new home, and much less have an impromptu with said hero to take down some guy cosplaying as a robot octopus and the other cosplaying as a rhino. strange characters, these new york villains. at this point, he's really not even surprised. but if one thing was for certain, it was that this guy could move. if he wasn't busy with making a bullpen for rhino, he definitely would've watched him better so he could sketch out some of his web slinging later. maybe if they became close later, he'd ask. for now, kyle's eyes focus back on the shorter man, looking at him up and down as he sat perched on the top of a water tower.

❝ and what's the vibe for you ? man spider ? has to be something related to that, obviously. ❞

❝ y'know, i really wish you'd stop doing things like this. even if it is kind of cool seeing your body regenerate itself. ❞

“ things like this ” being risking life and literal limb to save him. even if peter's hand was already regrowing as though it was never severed in the first place, and his intervention did allow dick to get the kill shot on the beast, he still wasn't happy about it. how could he ? even if the pain was temporary and peter was incapable of dying to something like that, dick couldn't act like he was alright with it. so his frown lingers, gaze flitting to outside of their little safe room just to make sure no zombies had sprung back to undead life before returning back to his partner.

❝ at least it seems like we're alone for the moment, so we can go over some of these files we've found. you sure you're good ? ❞

tim draws  conner  into  a  kiss  by  the  back  of  their  neck . &. tim pushes  conner  against  a  wall  to  kiss  them . &. tim  leaves  an  intimate  mark  on  conner .

a forgone conclusion, the end to their little game to see who would crack first. conner couldn't tell you when meaningless teases became harmless flirting, and when it turned into something more. maybe it has always been more, and he was too much of a coward to actually be forward about it. pushing the limits, @armofgod's limits, had been fun though. especially now when they could both reap the rewards and satisfaction could warm his heart at having won. ( though it's hard to say anyone's a loser, really ).

it happened like this: conner appeared in the entrance of the team's kitchen, a troubled mind made clear after a heart to heart with clark. it all seemed so obvious now, how he had felt more at peace by tim's side than anyone else's. how pulling a smile from red robin made him feel like soaring through the air. how he always scanned a battlefield for his best friend to make sure he was alright. how when he looked at clark spinning lois around, he pictured doing the same with tim. it propels him to saunter over to the man, too focused on his newest gadget blueprint to notice, to find his place rightfully next to the other. an arm comes up to prop conner into a lean, and also next to tim's own. blue gray hues simply study his side profile for a moment, inky strands casting a curtain to shield tim's own eyes. that was fine, conner already knew what they looked like, how they shined just for him. ( he would know tim by heartbeat alone, how the cadence ticked up just slightly as he finally noticed him. he would know tim by breath, the smallest of intakes whistling in his ears ). closer still he leans, lips coming to his ear. a whisper of his own, that snaps the tension in two.

❝ i think we should call off this little game of ours. be honest with ourselves. ❞

and that's how a strong arm comes to hook around his neck, and how conner finds himself being pushed backwards into the doorframe he just came through. his smile grows beneath tim's insistence, their heartbeats beating to the same tempo. tim kissed like a man dying of thirst and conner was the last drop of water in a desert, like he was hungry. his lips were just as soft as conner imagined them to be, and that's really the last thought the super has before his eyes drift shut. like everything else, their lips move in perfect sync, star-crossed, sliding against each other like long lost lovers. hands drift down to his slim waist, pulling tim even closer so that the only barrier between them were their clothes.

not long after that, tim all but rips his collar down as lips leave a burning trail down his jaw to the newly exposed skin of his neck. too hot, hotter even then the surface of the sun. conner's certain that he's branded for life now. that he was his. the feeling of teeth sinking into the spot just above the junction of neck and shoulder punches the air from his lungs, a hand flying up to tim's neck to keep him there. a quiet sigh of pleasure flutters from his lips as the other soothes the bite with a kiss. ❝ you're perfect. i've wanted this for so long, ❞ a mutter against the other's pulse, his other hand woefully abandoning tim's waist to instead hook beneath his knee, lifting him up effortlessly. ❝ why the hell did we wait so long ? god, it's like you were made for me. ❞